The University’s former chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a “statement of return” on Instagram on Feb. 29, announcing their intent to continue as an organization despite the branch’s derecognition as a club last semester. Along with the Revolutionary Student Organization, who organized the Nov. 10 protest that ended in seven arrests, SJP posted about a “Vigil for Palestine” that will take place in the Shapiro Campus Center on March 6.   

Administration decided to derecognize SJP on Nov. 7 “because it openly supports Hamas,” according to Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dine. As a result, SJP no longer receives funding from the University, is not permitted to “conduct activities on campus” and cannot associate itself with Brandeis. Following the derecognition, the RSO held a protest on Nov. 10. Three of the seven arrested are students at Brandeis, and they are still facing charges, although they may be permitted to graduate. 

In the statement of return, SJP wrote that they remain “committed to the Palestinian liberation” and “an immediate ceasefire” despite the University’s efforts to “fragment [their] collective response.” They cited the “roughly 19,878 additional Palestinians” that “have been martyred” since their derecognition and claimed that the need for a free Palestine “is illuminated more than ever.” 

As of March 1, a total of 30,228 Palestinian fatalities have resulted from the Israel-Hamas war, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 

“While Brandeis continues its pattern of censorship, the siege on the Gaza strip continues to claim innocent lives,” the post said. SJP further wrote that the derecognition was “unjust” but that its timing was “not a coincidence.”

“Brandeis understands through its history that the power of student-led collective action is insurmountable,” they wrote. “As our brothers and sisters in occupied Palestine have taught us, the fight for liberation is relentless and unwavering.”

They questioned Brandeis’ commitment to its stated mission of social justice, citing the student arrests made at the protest. They claimed that the “active persecution” of said students from the University “highlights a fundamental disconnect” between the University’s purported values and its actions. They further called on the community to support them and “take the necessary leap to continue to advocate for Palestinian rights.”

“The SJP will be no different,” the post declared. 

Wednesday’s vigil will be held to mourn “30,000 martyrs in Gaza,” according to the RSO and SJP’s joint post. In the caption, the organizations asked the community to submit statements for a “collective art piece that will be displayed” during the vigil. 

On March 1, SJP and RSO uploaded a post entitled “Brandeis Speaks Up” on Instagram to encourage submissions for the art piece. The piece is intended as “an expression of our [community’s] earnest pain and grief through the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza.” They hope to gather printed statements through an anonymous form.